Building on THE NEXT SOCIETY project, Berytech, in partnership with Anima Investment Network, launched the ‘Scale-up voucher for Clusters’ project offering a technical assistance voucher to assist regional clusters in developing their growth strategy and expanding business opportunities for their cluster members.
Six clusters were selected from the Mediterranean region, Tunisia, Morocco & Lebanon, to benefit from this opportunity based on their mission, track records, growth plan, and milestones.
Berytech has created a series of interviews with the six clusters to learn more about their work, the success they have had in building an impactful cluster and the challenges they face.
The six clusters are QOOT Lebanon, Menara Morocco, MDFC Morocco, Valbiom Morocco, Textile Technique du Sahel Tunis (2TS) and CE3M Morocco.
Meet the Moroccan Denim & Fashion Cluster
Introduce your cluster, its objective, the industry it works in, and the type of companies it gathers.
The MDFC cluster is active in the textile and leather industries in Morocco gathering startups and SMEs. It was created to encourage the emergence of an innovation ecosystem in the industry and create links between industry and startups and promote R&D in the sector.
What has been the impact of your cluster on the industry it works in?
The cluster has participated in building the capacity of the industry in the field of sustainable development by carrying out several support training projects and by establishing a culture of sustainability in the ecosystem. The cluster has also introduced several digitalization solutions, developed locally or internationally to develop the competitiveness of its companies. The work carried out with start-ups has had a great impact on the recognition of these players in the ecosystem and their integration and capacity building.
The cluster has been the catalyst for collaborative projects between the different institutions of the ecosystem.
What is the importance of your cluster in particular and creating clusters in general to your country?
The cluster played a major role in facilitating the integration of startups into the industrial ecosystem, and in disseminating R&D results in the sector.
What are the main advantages that companies receive from being in your cluster?
Members have received visibility and upskilling advantages in being part of the cluster.
What are the main challenges you face while achieving your main objective?
We are faced with a lack of data when it comes to new players in the sector and also a relatively low engagement from our members. Another challenge is the lack of funding for projects related to SMEs.
What kind of support do you wish to receive in the future?
We’re looking for funding for collaborative innovation projects adapted to the needs of SMEs in the sector. We would also like to be able to train and support executives of member companies as well.
THE NEXT SOCIETY is an open community of change-makers, entrepreneurs, investors, corporates, NGOs, public and private innovation, research, and economic development hubs from Europe and 7 Mediterranean countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia. It aims at mobilizing, promoting, and reinforcing innovation ecosystems and economic development in the MENA region.
